Lower Merion, PA Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

Article VII of Chapter 145 creates the Township's residential on-highway parking program. Under Section 145-37A, an owner or lessee of a single-family detached dwelling, a single-family semidetached dwelling, a two-family dwelling or a townhouse near a restricted street may apply to the Parking Services Department for one permit and resident sticker, letting that resident park on the unmetered streets abutting the home without regard to the time limits Schedule XVIII otherwise imposes. The article limits each qualifying dwelling to one permit as a rule, though Section 145-37C allows a second permit where the dwelling has no off-street parking and two elderly or homebound residents each keep a car they rarely drive.

Lessees of apartment buildings within 500 feet of a train station can also qualify for a permit under Section 145-37D if the Parking Services Department finds the building under-parked relative to the Zoning Code and finds spare curb capacity. Long-term construction zones designated by the Board of Commissioners get their own permit track under Section 145-37F, including up to two guest passes per residence. Every permit must be prominently displayed on the vehicle it was issued for, and it becomes void if the holder moves or sells the car; a replacement vehicle needs a new permit application.

The annual application fee, payable to the Township and collected by Parking Services, is $20 per calendar year or part of a year under Section 145-39. Article VII covers only those residential streets carrying Schedule XVIII time-limit restrictions or otherwise designated by the Board of Commissioners under Section 145-40, so it does not apply townshipwide.